A criminal case was recently decided in which, I’m sure, many people reading this saw in the national media. It created a brief stir and the news cycle went on. What it left behind is a disturbing glimpse into our national obsession. In this case a minor hockey coach intentionally tripped a player on an opposing team in the handshake line at the end of the game and causing him injury. The purpose of this post is not to draw attention to the individuals involved in this incident or even the case itself, but to highlight the actions that would . . . [more]

First Peoples Law, a BC law firm that’s just over a year old now, has launched a new blog that essentially forms the main page of their website.

According to the firm’s principal, Bruce McIvor, they’re aiming to inform First Nations readers directly, and not just other lawyers. Bruce is unusual, perhaps, among lawyers in that he has a doctorate in history, something particularly useful in his chosen field, where so much depends on understanding how to approach the past.

It’s a well designed site, and if they can continue to post with some regularity — the big difficulty . . . [more]

“The promise of arbitration is choice, and in order to fulfill that promise, choice must be deliberatively and effectively exercised,” Thomas J. Stipanowich, in Arbitration: the New Litigation.

“I am a firm adherent to the school of thought that denies acceptability of a person who has mediated subsequently filling the role of arbitrator, notwithstanding statutory recognition of this possibility.” Sir Laurence Street, “The Language of Alternative Dispute Resolution” [I992] ADRLJ 144.

Kari Boyle and I are writing columns this month about mediation at adjudication, commonly known as med-arb: she from the mediation perspective and I from the adjudication . . . [more]

I wasn’t so hot at algebra but I kicked azimuth in geometry. It’s a visual think / thing I guess. Which probably explains why Venn diagrams give me a kick. They say a whole lot about as laconically as it’s possible to get, rather like a joke when you come to think of it.

I recommend two sites where you can feast on these set pieces: a Tumblr: Fuck Yeah Venn Diagrams; and the delightfully witty Indexed. But herewith a bunch of my favourite Venns (and a bit of earnestness toward the end). You’re seeing thumbnail versions below, . . . [more]